Asher

Our Little Angel

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Nellie

Nellie has been real sick now for a couple of weeks. She got the runaway poops the end of April. Mom treated her at home for a couple of days then called the vet.

Dr. Brad gave Nellie some stuff called Panacur. It’s supposed to kill worms and tiny critters that don’t belong in a dog’s gut. Nellie got better right away once she took the Panacur, but a few days later things went from bad to worse.

Mom quick took Nellie and some of her smelly poop to Dr. Brad. I had to smell that stuff all the way there. Yuck, it was awful! Dr. Brad sent the poop to some lab to see what was messing up Nellie’s gut.

Dr. Brad looked Nellie over. He said he didn’t think it was anything real bad. He gave Nellie some stuff in a tube to soak up the toxins and some Chinese herbs to calm her system.

The medicine is helping. The runaway train inside Nellie has slowed down. Things aren’t quite back to normal, but they sure are lots better.

The whole time Nellie was sick, she never complained. She stood still while mom cleaned her up after she had an accident. She let mom trim her butt feathers so we could see what was going on back there. Nellie took all her medicine and never said a word to us mutts about how bad it tasted.

Me and mom feel so bad for Nellie. Here she is the oldest mutt in the pack. She’s deaf, mostly blind, has a tilted head and stumbles when she walks. But she wakes up each morning so grateful for another day at Asherpark.

I got to thinking that our Nellie is an angel. She’s a perfect little spirit sent to teach us about kindness and gratitude and caring for others. Maybe that’s why we feel honored to help Nellie when she’s sick. Caring for her feels like a sacred act. Nellie might not know she’s an angel, but we do. Thank you great spirit for the gift of our angel. We love you Nellie.

 

 

 

 

Nellie

I Was Sick

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Nellie

One day I was fine, the next day I wasn’t so fine. It came on slowly and suddenly I got real bad. You can see from my picture I wasn’t feeling good. Mom put me on the couch so I could relax. She called it my sick bed.

I love my grub, and mom always says I’m a good eater. I’m picky about what I eat, but if I like it I clean my bowl every time.

I didn’t lose my appetite, but my innards got out of whack. First my bombs started to look like something a big bird dumped. Mom watched me real careful and made me a special meal with chicken stock and rice.

After three days of me staggering outside as fast as I could to take care of my business, mom took me off my grub for 24 hours, like the vet says to do. I also took some Immodium, just like people do when they get the runs.

That seemed to help a little. With nothing coming in, there wasn’t much to go out the other end.

When mom started me back on little spoonfuls of rice and stock, all hell broke loose. I had a bunch of accidents in the house. The other mutts sniffed my butt constantly, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Mom called our vet and he gave her some magic powder for me. Its called Panacur. It kills all the bad stuff in your gut. It kills worms and stuff like giardia.

Mom mixed the Panacur powder in my food. I couldn’t even taste it. Boy did it work good. After the first dose I felt so much better. Once I didn’t have to worry about making a mess in the house, I could finally get some good rest.

Nellie and Ash

My pal Ash stayed with me the whole time I was sick. Here’s a picture of me and Ash taking a nap. He sticks real close to me just like Codie told him to do. Us blue dogs. We got a special bond.

Everything is back to normal. I can eat all the stuff I like. Mom thinks I lost a pound or two, so I get an extra helping once a day.

Today it’s sunny and warm. I’m gonna walk around in the pasture and eat some spring grass.

I can hardly believe this will be my second summer at Asherpark. I was supposed to die at the shelter a year ago. But I didn’t because Old Dog Haven stepped in and saved me.

That’s why I look at each day as a gift. I wasn’t supposed to have any more days. I wasn’t supposed to learn what love felt like. I wasn’t supposed to have pals like Ash or people who love me. But I have all of that, and I feel really fine. Yippee!!

 

 

 

Tess

We’re Sorry

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Tess

We didn’t mean to go off the air. Ash kept up the barks while mom was at the ranch, but when she got home things fell apart.

We were really happy that mom was back. The boys took good care of us, but we ran out of our home cooked grub the last day. Life just wasn’t quite the same without mom.

Mom smelled soooooo good when she came home. She smelled of horses, and the desert, and strange dogs. She smelled of fresh air and happy times.

Ash kept worrying that Jack was going to pee on mom’s suitcase, but Jack was good and behaved himself.

Nellie was so happy to see mom. She tried to jump on mom and fell over.

Then things got busy. Us four mutts can take up a lot of time. First mom cooked up some grub for us. Next there was laundry and housework to catch up on. We begged her not to wash her riding clothes, but she threw them in the washer and made the horse smells disappear. What a waste.

Soon Ash and I got to arguing over who should do the bark. He’s got lots more energy than I do, so I expect him to do most of the barking. But Ash said he was tired of all the responsibility and I should help him out.

Meanwhile Nellie got sick for a few days. She’s better now. Jack had his weekly bath and then it was my turn. Mom can’t manage my superfine undercoat. It always gets knotted and I end up with these hideous hairballs.

Last week I got chauffeured to the salon. Yuck! I do like to look pretty, but I sure hate the process. The brushing goes on for hours until the groomer finally gives up and gives me a warm bath with shampoo and conditioner. It takes me hours to dry, then I get one last brushing. I have to admit I look simply marvelous after my day at the salon.

The neighbor came over last weekend. Mom told Ash to go to his bed and stay there. Me and Jack tried to get Ash to break his command, but he wouldn’t do it. Ash got lots of praise from everybody for being such a good boy.

Life is back to normal now. We get up early while the moon is still low in the sky. We eat our breakfast and sleep while mom writes. Today mom’s taking Ash to town. Just mom and Ash. Everybody knows they’re pals. They’re going to have some special time together. Wish I could go.

Anyway, that’s the news from Asherpark. Don’t expect me to keep up this barking. I told Ash I would help him out this one time, but then he’s got to take over again. Maybe Jack and Nellie will sub for him once in a while. I don’t care. I’m done.

Respectfully barked by Tess.